Agricul

ture9. The Agriculturist in Punjab

As emphasised in the chapter on livelihoods, agriculture in Punjab is facing a crisis. The human components of the state’s labour force—the agriculturist, the peasant, and the labourer—who are bearing the brunt of the crisis, are the focus of this chapter. The status and condition of the agricultural labourer and the small farmer are discussed in detail here. of hired labour. Typically, daily labourers are contracted on a daily basis and paid at the end of the same day. On the other hand, farm servants, also known as naukars/ siris, are those whose contract lasts normally for about a year or more and who receive payment in instalments spread over the year. Payment may be fixed in cash or kind, or both, accompanied by daily perquisites such as meals. Yearly perquisites such as clothes during festivals and train fare (while travelling to native places) are sometimes also given. Wages differ according to tasks, gender and age. It is important to note that the siris are a category of workers who meet the definition of sharecroppers and thus receive a share of the crops as their wages. There are also bonded labourers, who work within an organised system of bondage. A ‘bonded labourer’ 2 is one who is subjected to forced or compulsory labour. The most typical form of bondage is ‘debt’ bondage. Labourers are forced to work with the same employer till

Agricultural Labourers

Agricultural labour is a heterogeneous category. There are those who are ‘self-employed’ and those who are ‘hired.’ The former are workers who work on their own family farms, while the latter category includes a variety of contract labourers such as casual labourers and attached labourers. Attached labourers include annual farm servants, permanent farm servants, naukar, siri 1, etc. In this sector, employer-labour relations, duration of contract, frequency of payment and nature and degree of attachment deserve special attention. The duration of contract may be...